Citations

Abstract Shortages of antimicrobial agents rank second among all pharmaceutical classes. These shortages are persistent and increasing. The underlying reasons for shortages include manufacturing and quality issues, market economics, and changes in demand. Antimicrobial shortages compromise patient outcomes and increase treatment costs, contribute to antibiotic resistance, and may lead to increased adverse effects.

Abstract Background Low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) is the main univariate risk marker recommended for initial atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk stratification. LDL, however, transports other constituents that can serve as pro-atherogenic risk markers. Like LDL-C, the triglyceride content of LDL (LDL-TG) can also be estimated from the lipid panel. Using data from UK Biobank (UKB), we compared LDL-C to LDL-TG for predicting future ASCVD events. Methods A UKB dataset (N=270,436) of primary prevention individuals not on lipid lowering therapy was used for analysis. LDL-C was calculated by the following equations: Friedewald, Extended Martin-Hopkins, Sampson-NIH, and Enhanced Sampson-NIH. LDL-TG was calculated by our newly devised equation (eLDL-TG = TG/38.46 + nonHDL-C/5.75 + (TG/nonHDL-C)/0.103 + (1/HDL-C)/0.0041 - 2.95)), which was derived from a dyslipidemic cohort (N=40,202) analyzed by the beta-quantification reference method. Results Although there was only a modest comparison between eLDL-TG and measured LDL-TG (R2=0.601, slope=0.611), eLDL-TG appeared to be a better risk marker than LDL-C in UKB. When the population was divided into quintiles and analyzed by survival curve analysis, eLDL-TG was better than LDL-C in segregating patients into low- and high-risk groups (Figure). Similar findings on the relative value of LDL-TG over other risk markers were also found when analyzed by ROC analysis (AUC: eLDL-TG>HDL-C>remnant-cholesterol>NonHDL-C>TG>apoB>Sampson-NIH-LDL-C). By Cox-proportional hazard analysis eLDL-TG showed alongside apoB and NonHDL-C the strongest association with future ASCVD events. Discordance analysis showed that when stratified as LDL-TG/LDL-C as High/Low there was an 26% increased risk for ASCVD, and when as High/High showed an 40% increased risk for ASCVD. Conclusions Like LDL-C, LDL-TG levels can also be estimated from the standard lipid panel. If our findings hold in other populations, the superiority of LDL-TG over LDL-C as a risk marker suggest that the reporting of calculated LDL-TG along with LDL-C could be a new strategy for improving ASCVD risk stratification.

Abstract Objective Menopause symptoms affect quality of life and financial well-being but are often unaddressed in primary care clinics. Therefore, we evaluated the extent of menopause symptom documentation in electronic health records (EHRs) by primary health care professionals. Methods We retrospectively reviewed adult women who reported moderate or higher vasomotor symptoms on a Mayo Clinic survey conducted from March 1, 2021, through June 30, 2021. We then assessed adequacy of menopause symptom documentation in the EHRs of these women who had primary care visits during the survey period. We reviewed the percentage of documented vasomotor symptoms from May 1, 2019, through May 1, 2021. Results In the Mayo Clinic Health System—Northwest Wisconsin Region, 229 women self-reported moderate or higher vasomotor symptoms in the Mayo Clinic survey. Although only 23% of these women had vasomotor symptoms listed in the EHR clinical problem lists, 60% of these women had vasomotor symptoms documented in their clinic notes from the primary care visit. Approximately 6% of women reported hormone therapy use for management of menopause symptoms, and nearly 15% reported use of nonhormone prescription therapies for vasomotor symptoms. Conclusions A greater proportion of women in our study had EHR documentation of bothersome menopause symptoms than those reported in other studies, but vasomotor symptoms remain generally untreated. We need better methods for identifying midlife women with bothersome menopause symptoms in primary care clinics so that appropriate treatment options, including hormone therapy, can be discussed and offered.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common malignant primary brain tumor in adults. Despite an established standard of care including surgical resection, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, GBM unfortunately is associated with a dismal prognosis. Therefore, researchers are extensively evaluating avenues to expand GBM therapy and improve outcomes in patients with GBM. In this review, we provide a broad overview of novel GBM therapies that have recently completed or are actively undergoing study in clinical trials. These therapies expand across medical, surgical, and radiation clinical trials. We additionally review methods for improving clinical trial design in GBM.

Abstract Purpose The 2025 ASHP Pharmacy Forecast report is written to identify and contextualize emerging trends that will influence healthcare, health systems, and the pharmacy profession. It provides recommendations to inform strategic planning that should prompt action by pharmacists and health-system leaders. Methods Drawing on the “wisdom of crowds” concept, a survey was constructed by an advisory committee with 6 themes, each with 7 focused statements and a seventh theme on preparedness (54 survey items in total). A survey panel of 321 pharmacy leaders was purposefully designed to capture opinions from a wide range of pharmacists across the United States. Panelists were asked to consider the likelihood of the statements occurring in the next 5 years as being likely, somewhat likely, somewhat unlikely, or very unlikely to occur. Forecast panelists also assessed health systems’ preparedness (from very unprepared to very prepared) for 12 of the statements. Results The 6 survey themes identified were The Business of Healthcare: Challenges in Health-System Pharmacy, Managing Ultra-High-Cost Drugs, Addressing the Gap in Primary Care, Whole Person Health, Navigating Generative Artificial Intelligence: Opportunity and Risk, and Stabilizing the Pharmacy Workforce. The survey was completed by 269 respondents, yielding an 84% response rate. Descriptive statistics of the survey results were provided to chapter authors to inform commentary and strategic recommendations for each theme. Conclusion The Pharmacy Forecast provides insights on large-scale, long-term trends that will influence healthcare and the pharmacy profession over the years ahead. Insight from the report can stimulate strategic thinking and provides a starting point to proactively position leaders, their teams, and departments for potential future trends.

Abstract Background Perianal draining tunnels in hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) and perianal fistulizing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) present diagnostic and management dilemmas. Methods We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients with perianal disease evaluated at Mayo Clinic from January 1, 1998, through July 31, 2021. Patients' demographic and clinical data were extracted, and 28 clinical features were collected. After experimenting with several machine learning techniques, random forests were used to select the 15 most important clinical features to construct the diagnostic prediction model to distinguish perianal HS from fistulizing perianal IBD. Results A total of 263 patients were included (98 with HS, 100 with IBD, and 65 with both IBD and HS). Patients with HS had a higher mean body mass index, a higher smoking rate, and more commonly showed cutaneous manifestations of tunnels and comedones, while fistulas, abscesses, induration, anal tags, ulcers, and anal fissures were more common in patients with IBD. In addition to having lesions in the perianal area, patients with IBD often had lesions in the buttocks and perineum, while those with HS had additional lesions in the axillae and groin. Among the statistically significant features, the 15 most important were identified by random forest: fistula , tunnel , digestive symptom , knife‐cut ulcer , perineum , body mass index , age , axilla , abscess , tags , smoking , groin , genital cutaneous edema , erythema , and bilateral/unilateral . Conclusions The results of this study may help differentiate perianal lesions, especially perineal HS and fistulizing perineal IBD, and provide promise for a better therapeutic outcome.

Abstract Pre-eclampsia (PE) affects 5–8% of pregnancies and has detrimental effects on maternal–fetal health. PE is characterized by de novo hypertension after 20 wk of gestation and end-organ damage. Systemic inflammatory imbalance has been associated with PE, but its contribution to the pathology is poorly understood. Our objective was to investigate maternal systemic immune changes in early-onset PE (EOPE) and late-onset PE (LOPE) versus uncomplicated pregnancies (control [CTRL]), and their contribution to endothelial activation, hallmark of hypertension. Blood samples were analyzed by flow cytometry, multiplex assay, intracellular cytokine staining, and single-cell RNA sequencing. We performed cocultures between circulating immune cells and HUVECs to assess endothelial activation. We found that EOPE had decreased regulatory T cells (4.64±0.33, p < 0.05) and monocytes (33.92±3.08, p < 0.01), whereas LOPE had decreased regulatory T cells (4.60±0.30, p < 0.05) and Th2 cells (7.50±0.62, p < 0.01) versus CTRL. Compared to CTRL, elevated cytokines/chemokines, and growth factors were observed in LOPE, whereas EOPE primarily showed decreased levels. Using intracellular cytokine staining, we observed more monocytes producing IL-12, TNF-α, and IL-1β (all p < 0.05) in LOPE versus CTRL. At the transcriptomic level, we found differentially expressed genes between EOPE and CTRL, predominantly related to upregulation of immune activation pathways. Lastly, EOPE PBMCs induced heightened endothelial activation in vitro observed by increased ICAM-1 and ET-1 (p < 0.05), whereas LOPE PBMCs required LPS stimulation. Although significant proteomic changes are observed in the LOPE group, the EOPE displayed changes mostly at the transcriptomic levels and could induce endothelial activation in vitro.

Abstract Background: Medium vessel occlusion (MeVO) strokes, particularly affecting the M2 segment of the middle cerebral artery, represent a critical proportion of acute ischemic strokes, posing significant challenges in management and outcome prediction. The efficacy of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in MeVO stroke may warrant reliable predictors of functional outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of follow-up infarct volume (FIV) for predicting 90-day functional outcomes in MeVO stroke patients undergoing MT. Methods: This multicenter, retrospective cohort study analyzed data from the Multicenter Analysis of primary Distal medium vessel occlusions: effect of Mechanical Thrombectomy (MAD-MT) registry, covering patients with acute ischemic stroke due to M2 segment occlusion treated with MT. We examined the relationship between 90-day functional outcomes, measured by the modified Rankin Scale (mRS), and follow-up infarct volume (FIV), assessed through CT or MRI within 12–36 h post-MT. Results: Among 130 participants, specific FIV thresholds were identified with high specificity and sensitivity for predicting outcomes. A FIV ⩽5 ml was highly specific for predicting favorable and excellent outcomes. The optimal cut-off for both prognostications was identified at ⩽15 ml by the Youden Index, with significant reductions in the likelihood of favorable outcomes observed above a 40 ml threshold. Receiver Operator Curve (ROC) analyses confirmed FIV as a superior predictor of functional outcomes compared to traditional recanalization scores, such as final modified thrombolysis in cerebral infarction score (mTICI). Multivariable analysis further highlighted the inverse relationship between FIV and positive functional outcomes. Conclusions: FIV within 36 h post-MT serves as a potent predictor of 90-day functional outcomes in patients with M2 segment MeVO strokes. Establishing FIV thresholds may aid in the prognostication of stroke outcomes, suggesting a role for FIV in guiding post intervention treatment decisions and informing clinical practice. Future research should focus on validating these findings across diverse patient populations and exploring the integration of FIV measurements with other clinical and imaging markers to enhance outcome prediction accuracy.